Abstract: The design, manufacture, and operation of thin-walled
pressure vessels must be based on maximum safe operating pressure
and an adequate factor of safety (FoS). This research paper first
reports experimental evaluation of longitudinal and hoops stresses
based on working pressure as well as maximum pressure; and then
includes a critical study of factor of safety (FoS) in the design of a
glass fiber pressure vessel. Experimental work involved the use of
measuring instruments and the readings from pressure gauges.
Design calculations involved the computations of design stress and
FoS; the latter was based on breaking strength of 55 MPa for the
glass fiber (pressure-vessel material). The experimentally determined
FoS value has been critically compared with the general FoS allowed
in the design of glass fiber pressure vessels.
Abstract: Batteries of electric vehicles (BEV) are becoming
more attractive with the advancement of new battery technologies
and promotion of electric vehicles. BEV batteries are recharged on
board vehicles using either the grid (G2V for Grid to Vehicle) or
renewable energies in a stand-alone application (H2V for Home to
Vehicle). This paper deals with the modeling, sizing and control of a
photovoltaic stand-alone application that can charge the BEV at
home. The modeling approach and developed mathematical models
describing the system components are detailed. Simulation and
experimental results are presented and commented.
Abstract: Welfare may be considered to be a subjective
experience; it has a biological function that is related to the fitness
and survival of the animal accordingly, researches have suggested
that welfare is compromised when the animal's evolutionary fitness is
reduced. This study was carried out to explain the effect of some
managerial stressors as handling and restraint on behavioral patterns
and biochemical parameters of rats. A total of 24 (12 males & 12
females) Sprague-Dawley rats (12 months & 150-180g) were allotted
into 3 groups, handled group (4 male & 4 female), restrained group (4
male & 4 female) and control group (4 males & 4 females).
The obtained results revealed that time spent feeding, drinking,
movement and cage exploration frequencies increased significantly in
handled rats than other groups, while lying time and licking increased
significantly in restrained rats than handled and controls. Moreover,
social behavior decreased in both stressed groups than control.
Triglycerides were significantly increased in handled rats than
other groups, while total lipid, total protein and globulin significantly
increased in both treated groups than control. Corticosterone
increased in restrained and handled rats than control ones. Moreover,
there was an increment in packed cell volume significantly in
restrained rats than others. These deducted that if we want to study
the effect of stress on animal welfare it is necessary to study the
effect of such stressors on animal’s behavior and physiological
responses.
Abstract: In this paper cognitive radio is presented and the
spectrum overlay cognitive radio antenna system is detailed. A UWB
antenna with frequency reconfigurable characteristics is proposed.
The reconfigurability is achieved when the filter is integrated to the
feeding line of the single port overlay cognitive radio. When
activated, the filter can transform the UWB frequency response into a
reconfigurable narrowband one, which is suitable for the
communication operation of the CR system. Here single port overlay
cognitive radio antenna is designed and simulated using Ansoft High
Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS).
Abstract: Given the dynamic nature of the higher education
landscape, induction programmes for new academics has become the
norm nowadays to support academics negotiate these rough terrain.
This study investigates an induction programme for new academics
in a higher education institution to establish what difference it has
made to participants. The findings revealed that the benefits ranged
from creating safe spaces for collaboration and networking to
fostering reflective practice and contributing to the scholarship of
teaching and learning. The study also revealed that some of the
intentions of the programme may not have been achieved, for
example transformative learning. This led to questioning whether this
intention is an appropriate one given the short duration of the
programme and the long, drawn out process of transformation. It may
be concluded that the academic induction programme in this study
serves to sow the seeds for transformative learning through fostering
critically reflective practice. Recommendations for further study
could include long term impact of the programme on student learning
and success, these being the core business of higher education. It is
also recommended that in addition to an induction programme, the
university invests in a mentoring programme for new staff and extend
the support for academics in order to sustain critical reflection and
which may contribute to transformative educational practice.
Abstract: Evaluating the performance of a simulator in the
CAVE has to be confirmed by encouraging people to live the
experience of virtual reality. In this paper, a detailed procedure of
recording video is presented. Limitations of the experimental device
are firstly exposed. Then, solutions for improving this idea are finally
described.
Abstract: In this study, data loss tolerance of Support Vector Machines (SVM) based activity recognition model and multi activity classification performance when data are received over a lossy wireless sensor network is examined. Initially, the classification algorithm we use is evaluated in terms of resilience to random data loss with 3D acceleration sensor data for sitting, lying, walking and standing actions. The results show that the proposed classification method can recognize these activities successfully despite high data loss. Secondly, the effect of differentiated quality of service performance on activity recognition success is measured with activity data acquired from a multi hop wireless sensor network, which introduces high data loss. The effect of number of nodes on the reliability and multi activity classification success is demonstrated in simulation environment. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of data loss in a wireless sensor network on activity detection success rate of an SVM based classification algorithm has not been studied before.
Abstract: Given a graph G. A cycle of G is a sequence of
vertices of G such that the first and the last vertices are the same.
A hamiltonian cycle of G is a cycle containing all vertices of G.
The graph G is k-ordered (resp. k-ordered hamiltonian) if for any
sequence of k distinct vertices of G, there exists a cycle (resp.
hamiltonian cycle) in G containing these k vertices in the specified
order. Obviously, any cycle in a graph is 1-ordered, 2-ordered and 3-
ordered. Thus the study of any graph being k-ordered (resp. k-ordered
hamiltonian) always starts with k = 4. Most studies about this topic
work on graphs with no real applications. To our knowledge, the
chordal ring families were the first one utilized as the underlying
topology in interconnection networks and shown to be 4-ordered.
Furthermore, based on our computer experimental results, it was
conjectured that some of them are 4-ordered hamiltonian. In this
paper, we intend to give some possible directions in proving the
conjecture.
Abstract: Cloud computing (CC) has already gained overall
appreciation in research and practice. Whereas the willingness to
integrate cloud services in various IT environments is still unbroken,
the previous CC procurement processes run mostly in an unorganized
and non-standardized way. In practice, a sufficiently specific, yet
applicable business process for the important acquisition phase is
often lacking. And research does not appropriately remedy this
deficiency yet. Therefore, this paper introduces a field-tested
approach for CC procurement. Based on an extensive literature
review and augmented by expert interviews, we designed a model
that is validated and further refined through an in-depth real-life case
study. For the detailed process description, we apply the event-driven
process chain notation (EPC). The gained valuable insights into the
case study may help CC research to shift to a more socio-technical
area. For practice, next to giving useful organizational instructions
we will provide extended checklists and lessons learned.
Abstract: Locating Radio Controlled (RC) devices using their
unintended emissions has a great interest considering security
concerns. Weak nature of these emissions requires near field
localization approach since it is hard to detect these signals in far
field region of array. Instead of only angle estimation, near field
localization also requires range estimation of the source which makes
this method more complicated than far field models. Challenges of
locating such devices in a near field region and real time environment
are analyzed in this paper. An ESPRIT like near field localization
scheme is utilized for both angle and range estimation. 1-D search
with symmetric subarrays is provided. Two 7 element uniform linear
antenna arrays (ULA) are employed for locating RC source.
Experiment results of location estimation for one unintended emitting
walkie-talkie for different positions are given.
Abstract: Testing the first year students of Informatics at the
University of Debrecen revealed that students start their tertiary
studies in programming with a low level of programming knowledge
and algorithmic skills. The possible reasons which lead the students
to this very unfortunate result were examined. The results of the test
were compared to the students’ results in the school leaving exams
and to their self-assessment values. It was found that there is only a
slight connection between the students’ results in the test and in the
school leaving exams, especially at intermediate level. Beyond this,
the school leaving exams do not seem to enable students to evaluate
their own abilities.
Abstract: An exploration of the related literature reveals that all
instruction methods aim at training autonomous learners. After the
turn of second language pedagogy toward learner-oriented strategies,
learners’ needs were more focused. Yet; the historical, social and
political aspects of learning were still neglected. The present study
investigates the notion of autonomous learning and explains its
various facets from a pedagogical point of view. Furthermore;
different elements, fields and scopes of autonomous learning will be
explored. After exploring different aspects of autonomy, it is
postulated that liberatory autonomy is highlighted since it not only
covers social autonomy but also reveals learners’ capabilities and
human potentials. It is also recommended that learners consider
different elements of autonomy such as motivation, knowledge,
confidence, and skills.
Abstract: The Roma (Gypsies) is a transnational minority with a
high degree of consanguineous marriages. Similar to other
genetically isolated founder populations, the Roma harbor a number
of unique or rare genetic disorders. This paper discusses about a rare
form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease – type 4G (CMT4G), also
called Hereditary Motor and Sensory Neuropathy type Russe, an
autosomal recessive disease caused by mutation private to Roma
characterized by abnormally increased density of non-myelinated
axons. CMT4G was originally found in Bulgarian Roma and in 2009
two putative causative mutations in the HK1 gene were identified.
Since then, several cases were reported in Roma families mainly
from Bulgaria and Spain. Here we present a Slovak Roma family in
which CMT4G was diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination
and genetic testing. This case is a further proof of the role of the HK1
gene in pathogenesis of the disease. It confirms that mutation in the
HK1 gene is a common cause of autosomal recessive CMT disease in
Roma and should be considered as a common part of a diagnostic
procedure.
Abstract: Environmental impacts of six 3D printers using
various materials were compared to determine if material choice
drove sustainability, or if other factors such as machine type, machine
size, or machine utilization dominate. Cradle-to-grave life-cycle
assessments were performed, comparing a commercial-scale FDM
machine printing in ABS plastic, a desktop FDM machine printing in
ABS, a desktop FDM machine printing in PET and PLA plastics, a
polyjet machine printing in its proprietary polymer, an SLA machine
printing in its polymer, and an inkjet machine hacked to print in salt
and dextrose. All scenarios were scored using ReCiPe Endpoint H
methodology to combine multiple impact categories, comparing
environmental impacts per part made for several scenarios per
machine. Results showed that most printers’ ecological impacts were
dominated by electricity use, not materials, and the changes in
electricity use due to different plastics was not significant compared
to variation from one machine to another. Variation in machine idle
time determined impacts per part most strongly. However, material
impacts were quite important for the inkjet printer hacked to print in
salt: In its optimal scenario, it had up to 1/38th the impacts coreper
part as the worst-performing machine in the same scenario. If salt
parts were infused with epoxy to make them more physically robust,
then much of this advantage disappeared, and material impacts
actually dominated or equaled electricity use. Future studies should
also measure DMLS and SLS processes / materials.
Abstract: Alkylated silicon nanocrystals (C11-SiNCs) were
prepared successfully by galvanostatic etching of p-Si(100) wafers
followed by a thermal hydrosilation reaction of 1-undecene in
refluxing toluene in order to extract C11-SiNCs from porous silicon.
Erbium trichloride was added to alkylated SiNCs using a simple
mixing chemical route. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first
investigation on mixing SiNCs with erbium ions (III) by this
chemical method. The chemical characterization of C11-SiNCs and
their mixtures with Er3+(Er/C11-SiNCs) were carried out using X-ray
photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The optical properties of C11-
SiNCs and their mixtures with Er3+ were investigated using Raman
spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL). The erbium mixed
alkylated SiNCs shows an orange PL emission peak at around 595
nm that originates from radiative recombination of Si. Er/C11-SiNCs
mixture also exhibits a weak PL emission peak at 1536 nm that
originates from the intra-4f transition in erbium ions (Er3+). The PL
peak of Si in Er/C11-SiNCs mixture is increased in the intensity up to
three times as compared to pure C11-SiNCs. The collected data
suggest that this chemical mixing route leads instead to a transfer of
energy from erbium ions to alkylated SiNCs.
Abstract: Modular structural systems are constructed using a
method that they are assembled with prefabricated unit modular
frames on-site. This provides a benefit that can significantly reduce
building construction time. The structural design is usually carried out
under the assumption that their load-carrying mechanism is similar to
that of traditional steel moment-resisting systems. However, both
systems are different in terms of beam-column connection details
which may strongly influence the lateral structural behavior. Specially,
the presence of access holes in a beam-column joint of a unit modular
frame could cause undesirable failure during strong earthquakes.
Therefore, this study carried out finite element analyses (FEMs) of
unit modular frames to investigate the cyclic behavior of beam-column
joints with the access holes. Analysis results show that the unit
modular frames present stable cyclic response with large deformation
capacities and their joints are classified into semi-rigid connections
even if there are access holes.
Abstract: In this paper, extract of papaya leaves are used as a
natural dye and combined by variations of solvent concentration
applied on DSSC (Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell). Indonesian geographic
located on the equator line occasions the magnitude of the potential
to develop organic solar cells made from extracts of chlorophyll as a
substitute for inorganic materials or synthetic dye on DSSC material.
Dye serves as absorbing photons which are then converted into
electrical energy. A conductive coated glass layer called TCO
(Transparent Conductive Oxide) is used as a substrate of electrode.
TiO2 nanoparticles as binding dye molecules, redox couple iodide/
tri-iodide as the electrolyte and carbon as the counter electrode in the
DSSC are used. TiO2 nanoparticles, organic dyes, electrolytes, and
counter electrode are arranged and combined with the layered
structure of the photo-catalyst absorption layer. Dye absorption
measurements using a spectrophotometer at 400-800 nm light
spectrum produces a total amount of chlorophyll 80.076 mg/l. The
test cell at 7 watt LED light with 5000 lux luminescence was
obtained Voc and Isc of 235.5 mV and 14 μA, respectively.
Abstract: A feeding experiment was conducted to determine the
optimum dietary protein and lipid levels for juvenile fancy carp. Eight
experimental diets were formulated to contain four protein levels (200,
300, 400 and 500 g kg-1) with two lipid levels (70 and 140 g kg-1).
Triplicate groups of fish (initial weight, 12.1±0.2 g fish-1) were
hand-fed the diets to apparent satiation for 8 weeks. Fish growth
performance, feed utilization and feed intake were significantly
(P0.05). Weight gain and feed efficiency ratio tended to
increase as dietary protein level increased up to 400 and 500 g kg-1,
respectively. Daily feed intake of fish decreased with increasing
dietary protein level and that of fish fed diet contained 500 g kg-1
protein was significantly lower than other fish groups. The protein
efficiency ratio of fish fed 400 and 500 g kg-1 protein was lower than
that of fish fed 200 and 300 g kg-1 protein. Moisture, crude protein and
crude lipid contents of muscle and liver were significantly affected by
dietary protein, but not by dietary lipid level (P>0.05). The increase in
dietary lipid level resulted in an increase in linoleic acid in liver and
muscle paralleled with a decrease in n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids
content in muscle of fish. In considering these results, it was concluded
that the diet containing 400 g kg-1 protein with 70 g kg-1 lipid level is
optimal for growth and efficient feed utilization of juvenile fancy carp.
Abstract: Since large part of electricity is generated by using
fossil based resources, energy is an important agenda for countries. In
this context, renewable energy sources are alternative to conventional
sources due to the depletion of fossil resources, increasing awareness
of climate change and global warming concerns. Solar, wind and
hydropower energy are the main renewable energy sources. Among
of them, since installed capacity of wind power has increased
approximately eight times between 2008 - November of 2014, wind
energy is a promising source for Turkey. Furthermore, signing of
Kyoto Protocol can be accepted as a milestone for Turkey's energy
policy. Turkish Government has announced Vision 2023 (energy
targets by 2023) in 2010-2014 Strategic Plan prepared by Ministry of
Energy and Natural Resources (MENR). Energy targets in this plan
can be summarized as follows: Share of renewable energy sources in
electricity generation is 30% of total electricity generation by 2023.
Installed capacity of wind energy will be 20 GW by 2023. Other
renewable energy sources such as solar, hydropower and geothermal
are encouraged with new incentive mechanisms. Dependence on
foreign energy is reduced for sustainability and energy security. On
the other hand, since Turkey is surrounded by three coastal areas,
wind energy potential is convenient for wind power application. As
of November of 2014, total installed capacity of wind power plants is
3.51 GW and a lot of wind power plants are under construction with
capacity 1.16 GW. Turkish government also encourages the locally
manufactured equipments. In this context, one of the projects funded
by private sector, universities and TUBİTAK names as MILRES is
an important project aimed to promote the use wind energy in
electricity generation. Within this project, wind turbine with 500 kW
power has been produced and will be installed at the beginning of the
2015. After that, by using the experience obtained from the first
phase of the project, a wind turbine with 2.5 MW power will be
manufactured in an industrial scale.
Abstract: Starting in 2020, an EU-wide CO2-limitation of
95 g/km is scheduled for the average of an OEMs passenger car fleet.
Taking that into consideration additional improvement measures of
the Diesel cycle are necessary in order to reduce fuel consumption
and emissions while boosting, or at the least, keeping performance
values at the same time.
The present article deals with the possibilities of an optimized
air/water charge air cooler, also called iCAC (indirect Charge Air
Cooler) for a Diesel passenger car amongst extreme-boundary
conditions. In this context, the precise objective was to show the
impact of improved intercooling with reference to the engine working
process (fuel consumption and NOx-emissions). Several extremeboundaries
- e.g. varying ambient temperatures or mountainous
routes - that will become very important in the near future regarding
RDE (Real Driving emissions) were subject of the investigation.
With the introduction of RDE in 2017 (EU6c measure), the
controversial NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) will belong to
the past and the OEMs will have to avoid harmful emissions in any
conceivable real life situation.
This is certainly going to lead to optimization-measurements at the
powertrain, which again is going to make the implementation of
iCACs, presently solely used for the premium class, more and more
attractive for compact class cars. The investigations showed a benefit
in FC between 1 and 3% for the iCAC in real world conditions.